She Outtakes
by GemmaH
Summary: Short pieces to accompany She
1. Chapter 1

**She outtake**

**Edward & Izzy, six months before the start of the story.**

**Part 1**

Izzy's been unnaturally down for over a week now. She calls round every day and sits brooding over Mike Newton. Who I can't stand. For the record I couldn't stand him even before he screwed Izzy over for Jessica Stanley, so it's not just a jealousy thing.

I hate to see her like this. When she's up, she's beautiful to watch; vibrant, dynamic and fun. Her laugh is infectious and her face comes alive, there's a glow about her I can't get enough of.

Her lows are painful though. She doesn't cry; there's nothing dramatic about them, it's like a valve has opened and all the life has drained away. She's quiet, her eyes are blank and her face expressionless. I never know quite what she'd thinking.

"Here." I offer her the mug of hot chocolate, mounded high with whipped cream and marshmallows. She looks from it to me, and finally a tiny light sparks in her eyes and the smallest hint of a smile plays around her mouth.

"Water would have been fine, you know? But thank you."

She shifts along a little and I sit carefully next to her on the couch. I feel her move a little and she leans on me. I'm not even sure she knows she does it.

She doesn't take her eyes off the TV as she picks a marshmallow off and pops it in her mouth, humming happily as it hits her tongue. I look down at her. Her hair is loose for a change, falling in messy waves around her face and over her shoulders. I lower my head and bury my nose, inhaling deeply. She twists her head to look at me with a bemused smile.

"What are you doing?"

"You smell good. You always smell so good."

"Get out of here!" She laughs and swats me away. I smile and wriggle down, making myself comfortable next to her, my head beside hers, still breathing in the scent that keeps the butterflies fluttering ever so gently inside of me.

After a while, when we're still lazing in comfortable silence, the hot chocolate mug sitting empty on the floor and we're half way through the next TV show, I finally get the courage to speak the words I've been saying in my head for so long now. My heart, usually booming loudly at moments like this, is gently beating, such is my state of complete relaxation, snuggled beside her like this.

"Iz?"

"Hmm?"

"Why'd you never give us a chance?"

She doesn't reply immediately, but I can tell she's giving some thought to her answer.

"I …." Her words trail off before they've barely begun, and she turns her head slightly to look at me, her cheeks growing pink when she sees me watching her. We're so close right now, that if I just lean in a little ….

I'm half expecting her eyes to open wide and for her to pull sharply away, but as I move closer she actually closes her eyes and moves toward me.

My heart's not silent anymore.

My lips touch hers and she's softer than I ever imagined. There's nothing strange, or awkward about it. It feels natural and right and … perfect.

She makes this noise, the most adorable fucking sound I ever heard, and it makes my stomach flip and my body ache, because all the time I've told myself one kiss from her would be enough, clearly I was delusional. A million kisses would never be enough.

She urges me on, kissing more deeply and with the spark of something more, something teetering on the edge of urgency. It's fine with me, I have going on for four years of unrequited love to purge myself of, and I revel in the sensation of having my feelings accepted at last.

I push against her, forcing her back until she yields and shifts to lie beneath me. Her hands are exploring and her legs are wrapping around mine, but I daren't open my eyes and risk bursting the bubble.

As my lips travel along her neck, tasting her for the first time, she says my name. Her voice is husky, like I've never heard it before, but I'm consumed with the need to hear it again and again.

The next words to fall from her lips make my heart explode, filling my body with fizzing iridescent sparks.

"Take me to bed? … Please?"

~S~


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

"Take me to bed? … Please?"

Who am I to deny her anything she wants?

I stand and take her hand, leading her through the house and up the stairs to my room. I barely breathe the whole way, too afraid that if a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world, then my own breathing may somehow cause Izzy to change her mind about this. After all, chaos is kind of our thing.

I pause at my bedroom doorway and look down at her. I don't speak, and she reaches past me to nudge the door open and push me gently through it. She closes and locks the door behind us, then she backs me up to the bed, forcing me down until I'm lying flat. I shift back up the bed and she crawls on after me, forcing a needful gasp from my lips as she straddles me and lowers herself down.

I've wanted this for so long …

The sex, when it happens, isn't romantic or faultless.

I fumble over the condom and I manage to accidentally tear her underwear. She has to tell me to stop apologizing.

I crush her leg when I shift position and she pokes me in the eye with her hair as she bends down from above to kiss me.

We don't come together, she doesn't come more than once and it's over far sooner than I hoped; because this is what I've wanted for so long, and I'm young and excitable.

However, I've wanted this for so long and I'm young and excitable, so when she continues to lavish me with kisses and touches in my post-coital glow, I'm soon ready to go again and she seems more than happy with that.

This time is better. We're relaxed, already sated, and I feel like my whole body could burst with love. She comes alive beneath my fingers, pressing her skin against mine and making sounds I'm convinced I'll hear in my dreams for months to come.

She doesn't come again, but she whispers that she wants me to. And I do. Overcome by emotion, I tell her over and over how much I love her.

She returns my kisses, deep and needy, and then I tuck her in next to my side and fall asleep, certain I've never been happier.

When I wake, I can hear my mom moving around downstairs. I sit up quickly, ready to shake Izzy awake, but the space beside me is empty and cold.

She's gone.

I check my phone. Nothing.

I sigh as I pull on my jeans and t-shirt and head into the bathroom. I wonder if I imagined the whole thing, but the smell of sex is strong in the air as I walk back into my stuffy room. I open a window to air it out, because I doubt my mom will appreciate it if she happens to open the door.

I try calling Izzy for two days, but she never picks up. Finally, on the third day, she answers.

"Hi," I say tentatively.

She sighs loudly.

"Edward, you have to back off."

"You left without saying goodbye. I've not been able to get hold of you since." I hear the edge of desperation in my voice and flinch. "Did I upset you?"

"To upset me, I'd have to have cared in the first place."

Ouch.

"When did you become such a bitch?" I ask, wanting to hurt her in return.

"Edward, we only had sex. People do it all the time."

"Yeah? Well I don't." I told her. I wasn't a virgin before her, but I don't sleep around.

"Well I do. I fucked somebody else just last night. Get the message?"

"Fuck you," I spit as I end the call.

I collapse onto my bed, my arms wrapped around my chest and tears soaking my pillow.

That's it.

I'm done.

~S~


End file.
